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Lancelot

Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants,[a] is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend where he is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is an orphaned son of King Ban of the lost kingdom of Benoic, raised in a fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, despite suffering from frequent and sometimes prolonged fits of madness. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that, once exploited by Mordred, brings an end to Arthur's kingdom.

For other uses, see Lancelot (disambiguation) and Sir Lancelot (disambiguation).

Lancelot

White Knight, Black Knight, Red Knight, Wicked Knight

Prince, Sir

Secace (Seure),[1] Aroundight[2]

Guinevere, possibly Galehaut

Benoic (in today's northeastern France)

Either Celtic Briton or French

Lancelot's first datable appearance as main character is found in Chrétien de Troyes' 12th-century French poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, which already centered around his courtly love for Guinevere. However, another early Lancelot poem, Lanzelet, a German translation of an unknown French book, did not feature such a motif and the connections between the both texts and their possible common source are uncertain. Later, his character and story was expanded upon Chrétien's tale in the other works of Arthurian romance, especially through the vast Lancelot-Grail prose cycle that presented the now-familiar version of his legend following its abridged retelling in Le Morte d'Arthur. There, Lancelot's and Lady Elaine's son Galahad, devoid of his father's flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight that succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests, achieving the Holy Grail when Lancelot himself fails due to his sins. Both loyal and treasonous, Lancelot has remained a popular character for centuries and is often being variably reimagined by modern authors.

"How Lancelot fought the six knights of Chastel d'Uter to save the knight of the badly-cut coat." (Tristan en prose c. 1479–1480)

"How Lancelot fought the six knights of Chastel d'Uter to save the knight of the badly-cut coat." (Tristan en prose c. 1479–1480)

Lancelot, dressed in brown, living with his companions in a hermit hut at the end of his life (Tristan en prose c. 1450–1460)

Lancelot, dressed in brown, living with his companions in a hermit hut at the end of his life (Tristan en prose c. 1450–1460)

's novel The Once and Future King (1958) portrays Lancelot very differently from his usual image in the legend. Here, Lancelot is immensely ugly and introverted, having difficulty dealing with people.

T. H. White

Lancelot is played by in the Arthurian comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). He is portrayed as an awkward knight prone to sudden and uncontrolled outbursts of violence in the section "Sir Lancelot the Brave" that shows his misguided bloody rampage to save a princess who turns out to be a prince and who did not really need to be rescued.[58] He is also a principal character in Spamalot (2005), a stage musical adaptation of the film. Lancelot was played by Hank Azaria in the original Broadway production. In this version, Lancelot is gay and marries Prince Herbert (portrayed by Christian Borle in the original Broadway production).

John Cleese

In 's short story "The Last Defender of Camelot" (1979), the magically immortal Lancelot finally dies helping Morgana save the world from the mad Merlin in the 20th century. He is played by Richard Kiley in a 1986 episode of The Twilight Zone based on the story.

Roger Zelazny

In 's novel The Mists of Avalon (1982), Lancelet is another name of Galahad, and an estranged son of the Lady of the Lake, Viviane. A handsome and great warrior, he is the protagonist Morgaine's cousin and first love interest, himself being bisexual and loving both Gwenhwyfar and Arthur. He is played by Michael Vartan in the novel's film adaptation (2001).

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Lancelot is a major character in 's The Warlord Chronicles trilogy of novels (1995–1997). This version of Lancelot is presented as a self-serving and cowardly prince of the lost kingdom of Benoic, left by him to be destroyed by Frankish barbarians. To seize the throne of Dumnonia, Lancelot conspires against Arthur with Guinevere, incites a Christian rebellion, and defects to the invading Saxons, ending up being hanged by his own half-brother Galahad and by the narrator Derfel (who had lost his daughter to Lancelot's scheming). Lancelot's glowing depictions in legends are explained as merely an influence of the stories invented by the bards hired by his mother.

Bernard Cornwell

Lancelot is a recurring character in The Squire's Tales series (1998–2010) by . In some books he is a major character and in others is a secondary character. This version of Lancelot is initially presented as a talented knight, but somewhat pompous and vain. In later books, filled with regret over his affair with Guinevere, he renounces court and is presented as more humble and wise. He leaves court to become a woodcutter, though he is occasionally swept up in quests to help Arthur and other knights.

Gerald Morris

The video game (1999) features Lancelot as a paladin.

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

The 2003 novel by Jack Whyte is told from the perspective of Lancelot. It follows his journeys, starting as a young child until his arrival in Camelot and his meeting with Merlyn and Arthur Pendragon.

Clothar the Frank

Lancelot is played by in the non-fantasy film King Arthur (2004), in which he is one of Arthur's warriors. He is mortally wounded when he saves the young Guinevere and slays the Saxon chieftain Cynric during the Battle of Badon Hill.

Ioan Gruffudd

Thomas Cousseau played Lancelot du Lac in the French comedy TV series (2005–2009), in which he is portrayed as the only competent Knight of the Round Table and a classically chivalrous hero unlike all the others, however still ill-fated.[59]

Kaamelott

portrayed him in the video game Sonic and the Black Knight (2009). Lancelot's appearance is based on Shadow the Hedgehog.

Jason Griffith

Lancelot appears in the light novel and its 2011 anime adaptation as the Servant "Berserker", played by Ryōtarō Okiayu/Kyle Herbert. Lancelot also appears in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order as a Berserker but also as a Saber class Servant.

Fate/Zero

's character Roxanne "Roxy" Morton in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its sequel uses the code name Lancelot. It was also used by Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character Archie Reid in the prequel.

Sophie Cookson

Lancelot is the primary antagonist in the first season of (2014), portrayed by both Matt Frewer and Jerry O'Connell. He gained immortality sometime after the fall of Camelot through magic and has spent centuries seeking to reverse the events that brought about its destruction. As the mysterious Dulaque (a respelling of his name du Lac), he leads the Serpent Brotherhood, a cult that has long opposed the Library's mission to keep magic out of the hands of humans.

The Librarians

In the video game (2016), Lancelot is a playable character portrayed as Guinevere's brother.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

's novel Lancelot (2018) is an original telling of the Lancelot story.

Giles Kristian

The immortal Lancelot Du Lac, voiced by , is a co-protagonist of Du Lac & Fey: Dance of Death (2019), an adventure video game set in Victorian London.

Gareth David-Lloyd

In the illustrated novel Cursed (2019) by and Tom Wheeler Lancelot is a violent Christian fanatic known as "The Weeping Monk". In the Netflix adaptation of Cursed (2020), he is played by Daniel Sharman.

Frank Miller

Lancelot is the major character in the animated series (2020), voiced by Rupert Penry-Jones.

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia

Lancelot is featured in the video game as a horseback assassin armed with a lance.

Smite

Lancelot is one of the titular knights in the manga series . He is the son of Ban and Elaine.

Four Knights of the Apocalypse

Lancelot appeared as a character in many Arthurian films and television productions, sometimes even as the protagonistic titular character. He has been played by Robert Taylor in Knights of the Round Table (1953), William Russell in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–1957), Robert Goulet in Camelot (1960), Cornel Wilde in Sword of Lancelot (1963), Franco Nero in Camelot (1967), Luc Simon in Lancelot du Lac (1974), Nicholas Clay in Excalibur (1981), Richard Gere in First Knight (1995), Jeremy Sheffield in Merlin (1998), Phil Cornwell in King Arthur's Disasters (2005–2006), Santiago Cabrera in Merlin (2008–2011), Christopher Tavarez in Avalon High (2010), Sinqua Walls in Once Upon a Time (2012–2015), Dan Stevens in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014), and Martin McCreadie in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), among others.

at The Camelot Project

Lancelot

at the Internet Archive

An English translation of the Prose Lancelot

at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (in French)

Lancelot digital exposition